Learn

Tis the season to get engaged! Once you do – you may want to schedule a photo shoot. Or at least plan one with friends or family, if you don't hire a professional photographer. Scouting the perfect location can be a fun afternoon activity the two of you can do together.

Side Note: we recommend having a Profesh involved if possible - the pics will be awesome & you can use them as save the dates, Facebook statuses, or when you're old and wrinkly & want to remember how hot you were.

Our biggest suggestion – Rent a DIVY bike, or dust off the bicycles and cruise around your neighborhood or another neighborhood you love. Use it as a chance to get out and see your city / town and really poke around the most beautiful spots

Safety First - please wear a helmet, use the bike lanes & be safe.

Take some notes on what you love. We suggest using the note section of your cell phone and taking some photos of the locations you love. If you enable location services, you can tag the exact locations of the scouting photos so that you can find them later.

Talk to your photographer & check out some blogs. Most photographers will have suggestions for what works well to avoid crowds / get cool backgrounds / have cool lighting scenarios. Trust the pros on their suggestions, and show them some pics that you love (keep it short and sweet) of other couples shots.

Here are some spots we think are pretty rad in Chicago

The 606 - this is brand new this year, but there are some cool shots of the entire city from a strange angle.

Bridges - the Dearborn, the Kinzie Street Bridge & the Lasalle Bridge. These are industrial and have cool vantage points.

Murals - we found a cool website to find your closest mural (http://murallocator.org/tag/chicago/) - we love the Pilsen Murals!

Water - whether it's the Lake or the River, cruise until you find your favorite spot.

Finally - don't forget about your favorite park, watering hole, restaurant, deck - not all favorite spots are landmarks & some of the best photos I've seen are people looking happy in a place that makes them comfy & they have some history.